Mike Wallace Net Worth

Mike Wallace net worth is$21 Million

Mike Wallace Wiki/Biography

Myron Leon Wallace was born on 9 May 1918, in Brookline, Massachusetts USA, to Zina and Frank Wallace, of Russian-Jewish descent. He was a journalist, game show host, actor and media personality, best known for hosting the CBS news program “60 Minutes”. He passed away in 2012.

A noted television host, how wealthy was Mike Wallace? According to sources, Wallace had collected a net worth of over $21 million, acquired largely during his career as a television journalist.

Mike Wallace Net Worth $21 million

Wallace grew up in Brookline, where he attended Brookline High School. Upon matriculating in 1935 he enrolled at the University of Michigan, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939. His career in journalism began in college, where he worked as a reporter for the Michigan Daily student newspaper. Prior to his graduation, he began his radio career, working as newscaster and announcer at several radio stations in Michigan. Enlisting in the US Navy during World War II, he served as a naval communications officer for three years, then went on to work a variety of radio jobs as an announcer in the late ’40s and early ’50s, which greatly contributed to his reputation and to his net worth too.

Meanwhile in 1949 Wallace became involved in a number of television and media jobs. He hosted game shows such as “Who’s the Boss?”, “The Big Surprise” and “Who Pays?”, and did various commercials, further increasing his wealth. In the mid-’50s, he became the host of an interview show called “Night Beat”, that went national on ABC as “The Mike Wallace Interview”, earning Wallace his first taste of fame and greatly adding to his fortune.

The early ’60s saw him doing commercials such as that for Parliament Cigarettes, but during this time he hosted a nightly interview program for Westinghouse Broadcasting called “PM East”, and a documentary television series produced for Syndication by David Wolper called “Biography”.

In 1963, Wallace became a full-time correspondent for CBS News, being later chosen as the lead reporter of the network’s news magazine television program “60 Minutes”, which debuted in 1968. Hosting a show that became extremely popular enabled Wallace to become involved in some of the world’s most important events, and to interview a number of presidents and other important figures. His work on the show made him a star television personality, famous for never being afraid of asking the tough questions and having no mercy for his subjects. He was also known for several controversies while on “60 Minutes”, such as being sued for libel by General William Westmoreland over a special he had done on the Vietnam War.

Wallace retired as a full-time correspondent in 2006, but went on to occasionally appear in the show for two more years. His career on the show lasted for 37 years, the oldest news anchor of “60 Minutes”, earning him an impressive net worth.

Wallace also pursued an acting career. Back in the late ’40s he starred in the short-lived television series “Stand by for Crime”, and went on to appear in other series during the ’50s, such as “You Are There”, “The Web”, “General Electric Theater” and “Studio One in Hollywood”. All contributed to his wealth.

Wallace also wrote two autobiographies with Gary Paul Gates, the 1984 “Close Encounters: Mike Wallace’s Own Story” and the 2005 “Between You and Me: A Memoir”.

When it comes to his personal life, Wallace was married four times. His first marriage was to Norma Kaphan, from 1940t to 1948; they had two children. In 1949 he married Patricia ‘Buff’ Cobb, divorcing her in 1955, later that year marrying Lorraine Perigord, who he divorced in 1986. His last marriage was to Mary Yates, who he married in 1986, remaining with her until his death. Wallace unknowingly suffered from clinical depression for years, which once led him to attempt a suicide. Wallace died of natural causes in 2012, being aged 93. His celebrated career earned him numerous Emmy Awards, and enabled him to amass a sizable fortune.

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Trademark

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His catchphrase - "Forgive me!"

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His gruff personality.

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Interviewing guests a lot of cold hard questions.

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Quote

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The Westmoreland affair, professionally and personally, was one of the most difficult times of my life. It was just devastatingly difficult because my integrity was put to question, and as a reporter, that's the single most important thing you've got.

Wallace was forced to apologize for a racial slur he had made about blacks and Hispanics. During a break while preparing a 60 Minutes (1968) report on a bank that had been accused of duping low-income Californians, Wallace was caught on tape once he made the joke. Attention was re-drawn to that incident several years later when protests were raised against Wallace's being selected to give a university commencement address at the same ceremony during which Nelson Mandela was being awarded an honorary doctorate in absentia for his fight against racism. Wallace initially called the protestors' complaint "absolute foolishness." However, he subsequently again apologized for his earlier remark, and added that when he had been a student decades earlier on the same university campus, "though it had never really caused me any serious difficulty here ... I was keenly aware of being Jewish, and quick to detect slights, real or imagined.... We Jews felt a kind of kinship [with blacks]," but "Lord knows, we weren't riding the same slave ship.".

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Inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. [1991].

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Met a young CBS News reporter, Morley Safer, in London, England, where he was worked as the London Bureau Chief, in 1968. Wallace immediately hired him, a couple of years later.

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In preparation for Wallace's retirement on 60 Minutes (1968), he traveled to The Violin Virtuoso to interview Itzhak Perlman.

Along with Louis Lomax, Wallace produced a five-part documentary about the organization, The Hate That Hate Produced, which aired during the week of July 13, 1959. The program was the first time most white people heard about the Nation, its leader, Elijah Muhammad, and its charismatic spokesman, Malcolm X.

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Helped created 60 Minutes (1968), the most successful prime-time show in television history.

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Owned the Vietnam story on the lead of CBS News. He led it 31 times during Vietnam.

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Won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award Grand Prize and Television First Prize. [1996].

Each week, viewers of 60 Minutes (1968) could expect Wallace to ask the questions they wanted answered by the world's leaders and headliners. He did not disappoint, often revealing more than the public ever hoped to see.

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Martha's Vineyard Community Services held a dinner following the Possible Dreams Auction on to celebrate the event's 30th anniversary and honor long-time supporters that included Wallace, himself. His wife, Mary Yates, Livingston Taylor, and auction committee member DiAnn Ray and her husband, Sandy, joined in the applause. [4 August 2008].

Wallace said at the time that he had long vowed to retire from hosting 60 Minutes (1968), 'when my toes turn up,' and 'they're just beginning to curl a trifle. It's become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren't quite what they used to be.'.

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During his last years, he also suffered dementia.

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In his 38 year run on 60 Minutes (1968), Wallace interviewed over 100 celebrities.

Upon his death, his ashes were being interred in the cemetery, while some was spreaded over Vineyard Haven Harbor in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts.

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Release of his book, "Between You and Me - A Memoir". [2005]

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Was a heavy smoker.

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Mike Wallace's family's surname was originally Wallik.

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Was sued by both General William C. Westmoreland and CBS News, for reporting that Westmoorland had deliberately falsified estimates of enemy troops strength in Vietnam. The suit was eventually dropped and talked many times about the deep depression that descended on him during the trial.

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While working on 60 Minutes (1968), a lifetime of working grueling hours, combined with arguments, the hundreds of airline flights and spending each night in various hotel rooms, had merely taken a toll on him, but did not escape, he collapsed on a plane, and was sent to the hospital where the doctors implanted his pacemaker, and monitored his heart by long-distance.

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Before he was a successful news correspondent, he served as announcer on the radio show: "The Green Hornet.".

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Met Buff Cobb when he was interviewed her at a radio station in Chicago, before she eventually co-hosted the show Mike and Buff (1951). The two eventually got married.

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Before he was a successful news reporter in New York, Wallace was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the time, he began his career as a rip-and-read reporter for $20 a week and worked his way up.

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To be a newscaster on television, Myron had decided to use his nickname, which eventually became Mike Wallace.

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Before he was hired as correspondent of 60 Minutes (1968), Wallace nearly quit CBS News for a job that would have landed him in the White House. He was covering the presidential election when Richard Nixon asked him to be his press secretary. Wallace was tempted.

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During the Iranian hostage crisis, he snared the exclusive interview with the Ayatollah Khomeini. [1979].

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Had a pacemaker for over 20 years.

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His sister, Helen, was a pianist.

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Enjoyed playing tennis.

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Each year, he participated in the Jay Murray Kay Prize Speaking contest. Though he didn't win, but he merited his honorable mention, a couple of times, and appeared in plays.

Enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 and served as a communications officer during World War II on the USS Anthedon, a submarine tender. He saw no combat, but traveled to Hawaii, Australia, and Subic Bay in the Philippines, then patrolling the South China Sea, the Philippine Sea and south of Japan. Wallace returned to Chicago after being discharged in 1946.

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After his 38-year stint as host of 60 Minutes (1968), he retired from hosting duties, full-time, in May 2006, at age 88. The last time Wallace interview was in early 2008.

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Lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, up until 1935, when Wallace, aged 17, transferred to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was a student at the University of Michigan.

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His final 60 Minutes (1968) interview was when he talked with a disgraced baseball star Roger Clemens about his alleged steroid use.

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Hosted the pilot episode for 'Nothing But the Truth,' which was helmed by Bud Collyer when it aired under the title, To Tell the Truth (1956). Coincidentally, Wallace was the most frequent panelist on that show.

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Was a spokesperson for Parliament Cigarettes.

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On March 14, 2006, he announced his retirement as reporter on 60 Minutes (1968) effective in May, 2006. He last appearance on the show was May 21st.

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Graduated from Brookline High School in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1935.

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His first 60 Minutes (1968) interview was with the former Attorney General, Ramsay Clark, who talked about police brutality.

The most shocking interview he had ever done on 60 Minutes (1968) was with Vietnam veteran, Paul Meadlo, where Meadlo confessed his role in the 'My Lai Massacre,' the Vietnam atrocity by American troops that pulled the nation. Wallace told Bradley about this, years after.

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Long before his surviving son Chris Wallace worked for Fox News, he worked for 28 years, at two separate news stations, which were both: NBC and ABC.

Just before his death, he lived in a care facility in New Canaan, Connecticut.

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Despite limiting Wallace's workload on 60 Minutes (1968), which began in 2003, he had found it difficult to remain idle, and had 11 original reports on the show, including interviews that had ranged, in typical Wallace fashion, from talking international politics with Mr. Putin to talking steroids with Jose Canseco.

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In 1992, along with widow Mary Yates, he founded Wallace House on the campus of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a place where journalists, worldwide, can come themselves to study, to hone their craft.

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Interred at West Chop Cemetery in Tisbury, Massachusetts, USA.

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Didn't cover Richard Nixon until 1967. It was also at the time, Wallace finally covered for Nixon, he was flying around the country, along with the people like Pat Buchanan (who was one of Nixon's speechwriters), and some of the people who eventually wound up with Nixon, in the White House.

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Had finally persuaded Dick Salant, who was the president of CBS News at the time, to hire him to work at CBS News, which revitalized Wallace's 43-year career in broadcasting.

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He buried his son, Peter, on what would've been his son's 20th birthday.

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Had a couple of successful surgeries for circulation in the legs.

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All of his siblings - before Wallace, himself - had attended Brookline High School.

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At Brookline High School, he was also on the boys track team and served as captain of the tennis team.

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Originally wanted to be a lawyer.

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Had a speech teacher, Louise Hannan, who taught young Mike how to produced tones from the diaphragm.

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His father, Frank Wallace, was the commissioner for Mike's own family, his mother, Zina Sharfman Wallace, was a housewife.

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A week after his 80th birthday, he appeared on the final episode of Murphy Brown (1988).

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His birthplace, Brookline, Massachusetts, is about 4 miles west of Boston.

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Mike Wallace died on April 7, 2012. His ex-60 Minutes (1968) co-anchor Andy Rooney died 5 months before him.

Longtime friend of Nancy Reagan, having known her well before she married Ronald Reagan. Their friendship was strained when Wallace conducted critical interviews of Reagan after he became President, but the two reconciled after Reagan's death.

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He really wanted to be a radio broadcaster and applied for a position in Muskegon, Michigan upon graduation from University of Michigan. He was turned down. He then applied to WOOD in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was hired and so started his broadcasting career.

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Before he was a successful news correspondent, he served as the announcer for ABC and Mutual Radio's "Sky King" (1946-1954).

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In the early days of television, Mike Wallace appeared in TV commercials for Golden Fluffo Shortening.

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His oldest son, Peter, died in a hiking accident in Greece in 1962; his second son, Chris Wallace, is also a news broadcaster.